I'm looking to simplify my shelter system and move away from tents. I usually hike with my dog, so I'd like to stay away from going tarp-only and was turned to two-person bivys (bivies?) Anyway, I found this one from Exped:

Does any one have any experience with this or something similar? Exped says it's waterproof, but would I still need to bring a tarp to cover it for rain? Will condensation be a big issue in AZ? The idea of getting a light-weight bivy for two that doesn't need a tarp and could function as my rain jacket as well is very appealing, especially at its price.

Oware also sells some two-person bivies (http://shop.bivysack.com/category.sc?categoryId=2), but they are more expensive and sometimes heavier than the Exped BivyBag Duo and most seem to require at least a tarp to cover the mesh over the face. Am I missing something here?

Somehow I make a habit of commenting that anything that has the word "emergency" in the product description is usually not what sane people would use if they had a choice.However if you can imagine yourself under a cover like that night after night and be happy with it, than it will work for you.To test that out you could just put your mat on the floor and crawl under a tent fly without any of the poles in it and see if that is what you are after.Franco

@William: Fair question. Do you have have to leash your dog somewhere at night when you sleep under a tarp? I'm pretty sure my dog would run off after something in the middle of the night if I didn't leash her and wasn't awake to call her back.

@Franco: I was a little worried about the "emergency" description as well. If I bought it, I was thinking I could sleep with my face near one of its openings and maybe try propping up the inside a little with a stick. Another possibly more comfortable bivy I was thinking of was this one from Black Diamond: http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en-us/shop/mountain/shelters/spotlight-bivy/

That might work except my dog is currently pretty dumb with leashes. The past few times I've leashed her to a tree, she's walked around it in circles for some reason until she can't move. I guess she could learn...

I am certainly no dog expert. I found out recently about an area where you are not allowed to leave your dog tied up outside overnight. The authorities claim that there are mountain lions in the area, and if the dog were tied up, it would be defenseless.

It is for reasons like that why a good shelter vestibule is nice for the dog.

Make a runner tie a 10-20ft of cord to two trees about 6 feet up taunt then take a 8-10ft length of cord atached to a small caribiner hook that to the rope between the 2 trees tie the hanging rope to her coller or put a second caribiner to hook to her coller she can move freely between the trees without gettig tangled in the rope and has enough slack to lay down you could leave Evan more slack so she could come under the tarp if she wanted to this is what I usually do for my dog as she also gets tangled easily

I took her on our canoeing trip to the boundary waters and we did have a bear come into camp she barked and barked but didn't try to get off the runner as we could see out . The window on the tent she just stood there and barked and I know one thing I wouldnt want a dog that was trying with a vengeance to get out of my tent/bivy to investigate the noises but if I was in a area with lots of bears like yellowstone or the bob marshal wideness I probaly wouldn't take her or I would keep her tied up right next to me but here in N.M although we have bears there's not a ton and they aren't to curios I still take precautions like a bear bag and keeping camp clean though better safe than sorry

Well I think I still want to try a bivy - it's really just a question of which one. Bivies just seem simple, durable, and quick to set up. They also don't always require trees or trekking poles.

The point about mountain lions vs. tied up dog is pretty valid in my mind though. I don't usually camp in bear-heavy areas, but I do frequent mountain lion territory. Unlike bears, a mountain lion won't (normally) rip into a tent for food. The runner is a really cool idea though and I might try it if I set up camp early some day. Thanks.

Maybe in Arizona you don't have to worry about rain as much, but I sure wouldnt want to be stuck with just a bivy in case of a rain storm. No place to take shelter under, and your gear would get soaked when trying to get it in the bivy

If I went with the Exped two-person bivy and it was raining when I set up camp, then I'd already be inside my main shelter because I'd be wearing it. And at 79'' by 55'', wouldn't it be big enough to rig up as a tarp for prolong periods of rain? Or would I want to bring along another small tarp like this one from Oware (http://shop.bivysack.com/product.sc?productId=45&categoryId=6) or just one from a hardware store?

John did you ever try the dual bivy concept? I live in the SW and like the Exped concept. In the SW most rainstorms don't last a long time like in other parts of the US. When it does rain, I pull over the bivy and everything is inside. Sometimes I keep hiking or sit on a log or rock until it passes.

If I have to make camp with rain, I can set up camp without getting wet. I install a couple of stakes at the arm holes from the inside, leave the head hole open for venting and use my trekking pole to prop the open end open. It works great. Ventilation is important and can be accomplished by leaving the open end, arm holes and head hole open downword.

It also works well for hammock camping because it is open on both sides. You can slide the entire bivy around the hammock providing protection from rain above and wind from below. When dry,I just push it on to one end and it is ready to pull over if it rains or gets colder.

It is great to change in or take care of pit stops while raining or snowing.

In my case it replaces my tent,tarp or normal bivy, and my goretex rain gear (about 3 to 5 lbs.). It works for short rain spells and certainly keeps you warmer without all the weight. It also provides emergency shelter for two or even three.

No, I never ended up getting the Exped Dual bivy but it is nice to hear your thoughts on it. I have purchased a two person bivy from Miles Gear which has seen some use but no rain. It really is great just rolling the bivy out on the ground though.